The Wolverine Set For July 2013 Release Date

Hugh Jackman has been trying valiantly to once again play the X-Men's surliest superhero, working first with Darren Aronofsky and now with James Mangold to make The Wolverine, a follow-up to X-Men Origins: Wolverine that's been delayed many times since it first started developing years ago. The last news we heard, unsurprisingly, was that production was facing more delays, and that they were planning to "resume talks" next year.

Well next year is now, and it seems they might have actually gotten together and made some forward progress. At Box Office Mojo they've added a release date of July 26, 2013 for The Wolverine, and with no further comment, we have to assume that's official word from Fox as they prepare to finally get this thing into production. That date, just a year and a half from now, isn't especially a lot of time, especially with Hugh Jackman planning to be in production on Les Miserables this year in time for its December release date. But Jackman has never been one to step down from a challenge, and if they've set a July date, it must be because the star is ready too.

With Mangold set to direct and Christopher McQuarrie writing the script, The Wolverine has a lot of solid pieces in place to help us forget the misguided X-Men Origins: Wolverine, not least among them the enthusiastic, ready-for-anything Jackman. If this release date holds, we can look forward seeing Wolverine's return among the other big movies of that summer, including Man of Steel, Steven Spielberg's Robopocalypse, the Star Trek sequel and Iron Man 3. Which will you be looking forward to most?